Saturday, February 19, 2011

Guide for a safe flirtation 2.0 - Teenagers flirt no longer in school or in bars, they do through the mobile Internet. The new fashion is sexting, sending erotic pictures or recordings via e-mail or text message to members of a couple. But the game has many risks . The principal, are exposed to sexual content that ends up in the hands of strangers.

This destroys your privacy and will raise the chances of cyberbullying, grooming (harassment by adults) or sextorsión (where there is blackmail). This is the case of Jesse Logan, a 18 year old Ohio (USA) who committed suicide in July 2008 after his erotic photographs were displayed at his school. Sexting practical Logan with her boyfriend, but when the relationship ended, he spread his images.

Now and to protect them , the National Institute of Communication Technologies (INTECO) and 'PantallasAmigas' just bring out a new handbook, 'Guidelines on adolescents and sexting: what it is and how to prevent it. " Here, adults and children can find tips and recommendations for minimizing the negative effects of sexting and a set of guidelines for action in case of any incident occurs.
Learn the risks

As recognized ELMUNDO.es Jorge Flores, director and founder of PantallasAmigas and co-author of the guide, "is that young people know that an intimate image that is sent to her boyfriend today, tomorrow may not be and this can break the trust. Or send to a friend, who in turn pass it on to a third party, by mistake or by choice, and finally ending up in the hands of many. "

Inteco According to a study last year, the 8% of Spanish children receive photos or videos of boys or girls in your environment with provocative positions and 4% admitted having made himself such images. The rate among adolescents aged 15 to 16 years is somewhat higher: 6%.

Among the factors that lie behind this phenomenon, Flores notes, "Teens have a different concept of privacy from adults and also now are used to find images of couples on the internet. The immediacy of new technologies easier to send content without time for reflection. " But above all and most importantly, he has "no perceived risk. To this fact is added that at this age, in addition to hormonal issues, need to feel accepted by the group, so they tend to be more offenders."

The problem is that most of them know the legal implications linked to the spread of erotic images, a situation that is compounded if the protagonist is a minor. In fact, child pornography laws adult apply adolescents between 12 and 18, although the sanctions imposed are different and are graded depending on the severity of the case.

Protect phones

For this reason, the director of PantallasAmigas argues that "it is essential to explain to children who have engaged in moving images is a risk, as well as send them. Because the phone be lost or because anyone can access it without us knowing it . A real example is the case of a boy who had their images stored on your terminal and one person agreed to them via Bluetooth, and asked the child 600 euros for failing to impart. "

Is therefore necessary to "adequately protect the terminals. And in the case of intimate picture finally is made public, must lose their fear and told the parents. And above all not to give in to blackmail."